The former Goldman Sachs economist, among those tipped as a potential successor to BoE Governor Mark Carney who stands down next year, said financial experts used the phrase to describe economies that were “past their peak and no longer so potent”.

FILE PHOTO: Deputy Governor of the Bank of England Ben Broadbent poses for a portrait in his office in London, Britain September 23, 2015. REUTERS/Neil Hall/File Photo

His comments attracted derision in social media.

“Enough of this pejorative tosh stigmatising women in their prime,” Conservative lawmaker Sarah Wollaston said on Twitter.

“#Menopause only a problem if others try to sideline you because of ignorant prejudice.”

Robert Peston, political editor of broadcaster ITV, said the comments were “sloppy, empirically unsound and potentially offensive”.

In his apology, Broadbent said he had been trying to explain the word “climacteric”, a term used by economic historians to describe a period of low productivity growth during the nineteenth century.

“Economic productivity is something which affects every one of us, of all ages and genders,” he said.